Shanghai (ZXZC)- Tesla (Shanghai) Co.,Ltd., the operation entity of Tesla's China business, has moved to Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone (SHFTZ), marking that it will enjoy more preferential governmental policies to further facilitate its China trade.

The company changed its location to SHFTZ Lin-gang Special Area on April 13, according to the China's National Enterprise Credit Information Public System. Meanwhile, Tesla Shanghai enlarged its line of business by the adding value-added telecommunication business into the licensed business item and the rental & leasing businesses of mechanical equipment, non-residential property and automobile to the general item.

In China, the business scope is divided into the “licensed” and the “general” business items. The former refers to the item that shall be reported to and subject to the approval of relevant authorities before an enterprise applies for registration. However, the “general” references to the item that can be applied for by an enterprise itself at its own without getting authoritative approvals. 

The SHFTZ is the epitome of China's deepened reform and opening-up. Companies located there are provided with a number of facilitation policies. For instance, they are allowed to pay the registered capital in a manner independently agreed on by themselves and obtain business license without paying registered capital. The registration of foreign-invested companies at the SHFTZ adopts the recording system rather than the examination and approval system, largely streamlining the administrative procedures for companies' establishment.

Tesla (Shanghai) Co.,Ltd. was founded in May 2018 with a registered capital of RMB4.67 billion. Its business scope extends to cover the production and sale of electric vehicles (EVs), EV-related components, batteries, energy storage facilities and photovoltaic products, pertinent after-sale services and technology developments.

(Photo source: Tesla China)

On July 10, 2018, the U.S. EV manufacturer signed a cooperative agreement with Shanghai Municipal Government to set up a self-owned EV plant at the Lin-gang Special Area. After a less-than-one-year construction, the plant was put into production at the end of 2019 with initial outputs topping 1,000 vehicles per week.

The first batch of the China-built Model 3s were handed over to 15 employees on December 30, 2019, while a larger scale of delivery started around a week later.

Earlier this month, the locally-produced Tesla Model 3's Long Range RWD and Performance AWD formally hit the market with respective starting price of RMB339,050 (after subsidy) and RMB419,800 (before subsidy).

The EV maker has decided to take advantage of China's thriving online shopping development to expand its business there. It announced on April 16 that it opened its first online flagship store on Tmall, a Chinese leading e-commerce platform owned by Alibaba. Consumers can purchase auto parts and charging services as well as make test drive reservations at the online store.